The Motherlode

When last we left, the group had entered a room and a stone wall had fallen barring the entrance.
The room exhibited some columns that were discovered to be plumbing shafts.

Moving forward a number of additional passages were expolored. The princess was able to orient against the scrap of map and the group decided to work towards the middle of the map, hoping to find a route to the surface before things got ugly.

A dry storage fire wood room was found.

A Mirrored corridor containing 20 mirrors was discovered and upon crossing the last mirror the Princess attacked a mirror image of herself, which then stepped out of the mirror. After a short battle to kill the “clone”, she looked into the mirror again, and fought herself for a second time.
The group decided to turn this mirror around to avoid additional mirror image fights.
(this is a Mirror of Opposition)
The group decided to return to the lair of the maintenance orcs, and after poking around enough to find them, asked for directions. The orcs were still relatively uninterested and sent them away.
They explored a few more storerooms, and found stockpiles of some unusual and exotic foodstuffs, as well as a healthy supply of lamp oil in bowling ball sized earthenware pots.
Loaded up with oil they pressed on into a hammer and anvil trap, but good reflexes by all avoided any crushing blows.

Into a natural cavern opening, a strange glowing sigil was etched on a wall.
A hail of arrows assaulted the group- a group of 20 kobolds had built a substantial barricade and began fighting the group from their defensive position.
The party members carrying the oil rolled excellent attacks and landed the oil inthe midst of the defenders- Varuca shot a teriffic critical lonbow shot which destroyed the head of the leader, the conflagration of the oil took care of many of the rest, and the enraged giant weasel of the leader fought in a frenzied attack. The Princess sucessfully “mounted” the weasel and performed rodeo as the rest of the group stabbed it dead. I-Kill-Ewe failed to bring the weasel into “animal friendship”. The Princess cut a one piece weasel head/cape from its hide. A rather gorey drape.

The group moved into the kobold cave and spent a night resting and healing up.
Continuing down the corridor to the East they encountered a teleporter trap, sending them into a tunnel only a fe feet under the floor of where they just stood, but this did a good job disorienting the group. A search discovered a secret door, which opened into a very old and forgotten library. A mysterious cloud hovered about the room, and a skull with glasses proved to be an explosive trap. A thorough sacking of the room uncovered two enormously valuable spell books; once bound with Black Dragon Hide, one elephant covered slate, both with a copious amount of spells.

Beyond the library they entered another are clearly the tomb of another dwarf clan. A battle with two ghouls and a ghast was ultimately successful despite some parylizations. It might have been a TPK if a clutch turning by Robard did not save the day. Flueder’s leg was critically damaged and was “destroyed” barely attached by threads.

Treasure in this room was meager. The main tomb was previously sacked, but did yield an outstanding +4 Hand Axe, and a sceptre. The denizen of the tomb was an ancient Spectre, and this powerful undead dwarf almost had his way with party. The specrtre savaged Shaloub and Varuca until the rest of the party could get their weapons to bear on it. I-Kill-Ewe came up with two mighty blows to sunder him. The sceptre was found to have two powerfull heal scrolls which restored Flueder’s leg, and Shaloub’s consciousness.

The tomb seemed to be a thorough dead end, but an altar room opposite a giant statue the group had passed up was all that remained. Upon entering the strange and unusual Dwarven sacrificial altar I kill-ewe immediately lit the two candles on either arm of the altar- this completed a forstalled ritual and opened a extremely secret door leading to a50 god shrine- Dumathoin, Dwarven god of gems and wealth.
Five chests containing a massive cache of gems were found,four sacks of walnut sized gemstones and an unfathomable wealth, a 25 lb emerald the size of a man’s head.
Each sack of gems weighs 80 lbs. The treasure was dragged back to the kobold lair and the group holed up there to make camp.